THIS is AMERICAN IDOL!

<i><b>THIS</b> is AMERICAN IDOL!</i>

IDOL IS BACK!!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Jennifer Hudson Tapped To Sing For The DNC




SOHH is reporting that Democratic Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama has requested that Jennifer Hudson sing the National Anthem on Thursday night prior to his accepting the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States. Click the link the read the brief story.

Jordin Sparks Made "Weak In The Knees" By Simon Cowell




Teen Music is reporting that Jordin Sparks was “surprised” to win American Idol 6, but what was more distracting for her than the competition was the “crush” she had on American Idol judge Simon Cowell. Click the link to read the story.

Daughtry Gives Back




Yahoo is reporting that Chris Daughtry joined the likes of Senator Tom Daschle, and Princess Zulu of Zambia to assist students at Manual High School in Denver, Colorado in assembling caregiver kits for World AIDS Day. Click the link to read the story.

Ace Young Enters “Grease” As Taylor Hicks Checks Out




Zap2it has put out a report from Playbill magazine stating that Taylor Hicks will exit the Broadway production of Grease on September 7th, and two days later, Ace Young will make his Broadway debut in the same play. Taylor Hicks has been playing Teen Angel, and Ace Young will play Kenickie. Click the link to read the story.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Paula's "Straight Up" Take on Kara, Is She "Forever Her Girl" ?: A Report From Perez




Sorry about the title, y'all, I just couldn't help myself.


Perez Hilton is reporting that he has had an exclusive conversation with Paula Abdul about her reaction to the addition of fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi. Paula reports that she has known Kara for "years". In fact, Paula says she met Kara in Brooklyn, New York years ago. AND that she convinced Kara to give up her job at Billboard magazine and move to LA to "pursue her dream". Further, Paula says that Kara lived with her for a little while when she came to LA. Finally, Paula stated that she had been mentioning Kara's name to Idol producers long before this decision was made.


Do we believe La Abdul and her sweet, loveydovey, response to Kara's addition to the judge's panel? Read the story to decide for yourself.

American Idol Shake Up: Idol Adds A Fourth Judge!




Entertainment Weekly is reporting that we've got a shake up going on at American Idol. It looks like the eighth cycle of American Idol is going to feature a fourth judge. The fourth judge will be on the panel from start to finish. In the words of EW, this looks like "the biggest format change in American Idol history". Kara DioGuardi, a singer songwriter who has written for several American Idol alums including Kelly Clarklson, Carrie Underwood, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Clay Aiken, Bo Bice, David Cook, and David Archuleta, has been tapped to be the fourth judge on the panel. Along with all of the aforementioned Idol alums, DioGuardi has worked with the likes of Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Christiana Aguilera and Jewel.


I wonder how the addition of the fourth judge will play with the audience . . . How will it play with the other three judges? I kind of think that the addition of a fourth judge is a double edged sword . . . I think the addition of a songwriter could REALLY increase the street cred of the show . . . on the other hand, as EW mentions, the addition of a fourth judge could cut into an already short performance time . . .


What do y'all think?


Click the link to read the story

Friday, August 22, 2008

Archuleta Crushes the Competition


TV Guide is reporting that David Archuleta is blowing up the charts with his new single, "Crush". Billboard is reporting that Archuleta has debuted at #2 on the Hot 100 singles chart. This chart compiles both sales and airplay numbers to devleop rankings for singles. It is the tied for the highest ranking non-Idol related single for any former Idol contestant . . . of course, the other is by the ORIGINAL AMERICAN IDOL (not that I'm biased) Kelly Clarkson who hit #2 with her megahit "Since You've Been Gone".


All of us here at A Little Taste of Idol would love to give a huge shout out to our "Lil Boo". Congrats!


Click the link to read the article.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Elvis and Carrie Underwood Unite for a Not So Blue Christmas




Pantagraph has released a story regarding an upcoming Christmas album that will mirror the Frank Sinatra "Duets" CD from years ago. Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, and LeAnn Rimes are among those who will be featured on the CD. Click the link to read the story.

Archuleta Gets Personal With BC Music




With the release of David Archuleta's new single, "Crush", comes the usual onslaught of one on one interviews. BC Music has released its interview which was conducted just prior to a stop on the Idol tour. Highlights include: "Imagine" and "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" being two of David's favorite performances, and his comments about recording his upcoming album. This one is kind of lengthy . . . so, all you Archuleta fans, enjoy! Click the link to read the story.

Simon Cowell and Money: "I Have No Conscience"




Reality TV World is reporting that Simon Cowell has "no conscience when it comes to spending". The story reports that Cowell pulls in around 65 Million dollars per year in his various entertainment pursuits . . . with 47 Million coming from American Idol. One of the highlights from the story that just cracked me up was that Cowell "doesn't think twice" about spending around two thousand dollars on t-shirts alone. You would think with spending that much money on t-shirts, he could move away from the black and grey, er, um . . . let's just say "fitted" t's. Click the link to read the story.

Monday, August 18, 2008

American Idol Rewind




TV Week is reporting that American Idol Rewind is getting an upgrade. A new production company has taken over the reigns, and is expanding it's reach. Idol Rewind was the top rated cable viewed syndicated show in both of its first two seasons. It rated an average of 1.8 in the ratings . . . the equivalent of about 2 million viewers. In comparison, it is getting about the same rating as "Gossip Girl" the uber popular show on the CW. For season three, the show will focus on both Idol 3 and Idol 4. It will still deliver the performances that led contestants to sink or swim, but will also follow some of the contestants on their post-Idol journeys. Click the link to read the whole story.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

David Archuleta Has A "Crush"

Oopsy . . . apparently I did not, as I previously posted, put the link to David Archuleta's single, "Crush" on the blog. I am posting it below. FYI: everyone from entertainment weekly to Billboard has given this single RAVE reviews. Check it out and let me know what you think.


Lil David Is Gonna Be A Star!





Our own little Idol Runner Up has released his first single, "Crush" from his forthcoming album to be released this fall. I posted a link to the song a while back. Well, another blog, "ChartRigger" is reporting that Lil Boo's single is NUMBER 1 on Itunes downloads and is set to debut in the TOP 10 this week! Yay for Lil Boo!


To celebrate, I am posting a link to a performance that made me believe he could be relevant in today's music scene. Please enjoy Lil David with One Republic singing, "Apologize"


Chris Sligh Discusses His Album and Tour




Y'all remember Chris Sligh from American Idol 6. He started with a bang and kind of went out with a whimper. He finished season 6 in the 10th position, and got to perform on the Idol Tour. BTW, Allison and I saw that tour, and sometime, we'll have to write a post about it . . . so freakin good . . . just me, Allison, and 5000 of our closest 10 year old friends! :)


Anyhoo, NewsOK has put out an interview with Chris Sligh . . . He discusses his Christain based album, his tour, and his time on American Idol. Click the link to read the story.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Sweet Home Alabama all summer long

Haven't been around for a while....but everytime I hear my new favorite song....I think of J and Alison. Hope you all are having a great summer!!!

I did check out Archie's single from the link....I'm not sold yet...but I'll give it a few more listens before I decide.

Anyway...in honor of two of my Southern Friends.......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUaP7LoppGw

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Ryan Seacrest . . . I just had to . . .


TMZ posted a blip of a story with the "modelling" photo of a 19 year old, Ryan Seacrest. Not much to the story, but mostly just a gratuitous shot of La Seacrest . . . doesn't do much to fan the flames of the "mo" rumors . . . Click the link to read the blip.

What do y'all think?

Kristy Lee Cook Talks About Her "Fifteen Minutes of Shame"




Blog Critics Music has posted an interview with American Idol 7 finalist, Kristy Lee Cook. The Idols just performed in her home town of Portland, Oregon and the folks from BCM caught up with our country girl. She states that her new single, "Fifteen Minutes of Shame" will be released sometime in August, and her album will drop sometime in the fall. Click the link to read the whole story!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Archuleta Tries To Channel His Inner Miley



Eonline is reporting that Uber Idol Dad, Jeff Archuleta wants the "Miley Cyrus" treatment for his son. In fact, it seems that Team Archuleta has worked a deal where Lil David is going to record two singles for his forthcoming album penned from the writers who provided the Miley her current hit, 7 things . . .


Click the link to read the story . . .

Gabe Garcia Thinks That Nashville Star Made The Right Decision




The link attached below hits on an interview with Gabe Garcia. In the interview, Gabe discusses that he thinks the right person won Nashville Star. In addition, he gives a little insider information about the final three . . .


Click the link to read the story . . .

Monday, August 4, 2008

Nashville Star: A Pre-Finale Interview

A few minutes before the Nashville Star Finale, I was emailed an article posted in Reality TV World interviewing John Rich about the final three contestants. I'll post a link at the bottom where you all can read the whole article. Its very interesting to read John Rich's thoughts . . . it is very clear that La Rich is not fond of Shawn Mayer. He is VERY complimentary of both Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson . . . seeming to lean a wee bit more towards Lawson than Garcia . . . however, he stated that they are both talented and would be wonderful to work with . . . Then there are his remarks regarding La Mayer . . . Rich states that while he has seen a noticeable difference in Mayer's attitude and personality, he thinks that she is working with the same amount of talent now as she was at the beginning . . . "she has not gone from terrible to great". Really, really interesting article . . . Click the link to read the whole story.

American Idol 8 Auditions: A Bust In Puerto Rico?




TMZ is reporting that the latest effort by American Idol to expand it's search for America's next superstar has fallen flat. According to reports, the most recent auditions that were held in newly tapped for talent location, Puerto Rico were met with little interest. Only approximately "300" or so potential idol competitors showed up to audition for the most recent round of audtions. Don't fret Idol fans . . . TMZ also reports that this lack of interest is isolated and the other sites of auditions have produced the typical massive turnout of potential idols and potential worst of idol gag reel folks. Click the link to read the post.

Nigel Lythgoe Says Buh Bye to Idol?




TMZ is reporting that Nigel Lythgoe, Idol Machine Honcho, is exiting before the upcoming season. According to the report, Lythgoe is "bored" with the show and thinks that someone else would do a better job and pumping new life into the show. In addition, the possibly former Idol maven wants to spend his time and effort injecting energy into the continually surprising FOX summer hit, "So You Think You Can Dance". Click the link to read the story.
Wow! There is already an update on the above story. TMZ is reporting that Nigel Lythgoe has issued a statement that next season So You Think You Can Dance will be traveling internationally for its auditions, and therefore, he will "step back from his day to day" contact with American Idol. In addition, he will be involved with a new tv venture with Simon Fuller. Click the link to read the update.

I wonder if this shift in power, depending on who replaces him and assuming that this story is accurate, will have any noticeable affect on the quality of the show. Have no fear y'all, you know that we at A Little Taste of Idol will keep on top of things . . . Stay Tuned . . .

Nashville Star Finale Tonight!

Tonight, Nashville Star will crown the winner of it's Fifth Season. We are down to three contestants: 1) Melissa Lawson, 2) Gabe Garcia, and 3) Shawn Mayer . . . not that I've ranked these in any particular order . . . er, um . . . anyway . . .

NBC is reporting that they received a "record number of votes" for this final three telecast, and that voting was up "53%" from the previous week. A Side Note Here: I have found it so very sketchy from the beginning that NBC would not release the number of votes they were receiving each week. . . or any information about voting period . . . and, lets not forget that week of the final 6 when they were supposed to go from six to four and then strangely only eliminated one person . . . weird . . . Anyway . . .

Other highlights from tonight's telecast . . . The final three reunite with their eliminated reality family for several performances this evening . . . think Idol finale, cut in half, with a lower budget. Country legend George Jones will perform . . . The BRC will bust out his guitar, but hopefully not his mullet when he croons a tune from his latest CD, and finally, our winner will perform the song written by John Rich as the first single to hit radio tomorrow.

I really hope Nashville Star can pull off a decent finale. I haven't been thrilled with all of the contestants, but there are some good folks here, and I think if they do some major tweaking, they could make this show into something special . . . here's hoping

Click the link to read a full story about the finale posted by RealityWorld

Archuleta Hits The Radio With "Crush"

Our Lil Boo is growing up, y'all!

David Archuleta's first single from his forthcoming album, dropped last Friday. The song, "Crush" is meant to provide advanced airplay leading up to the Fall '08 release of his first album.

When I first saw that Lil David had released this song, I so didn't want to listen to it. Strange, I know, because I do love Lil Boo. . . . I was just very nervous and did not want to be disappointed as I have in the past . . .However, I was quite impressed . . . as was the reviewer at Entertainment Weekly. Lil David has a distinctive voice, and there is no doubt that you are hearing the same Archie as we did on American Idol 7 . . . but, they have hooked him into a song that sounds contemporary, has a catchy hook, and fits very much into today's teen radio scene. . . If this song gets airplay, it will be a hit. Check out the song by clicking on the play button.